3 Lankan nationals held for entering India illegally

Three Sri Lankan nationals were arrested for illegally entering into India, police here said on Monday. The trio was arrested by the Coastal Security Group (CSG) police from Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district and they had used a boat made of fibreglass to reach Indian shores.

They had landed at Arucottuthurai in Vedaranyam allegedly to smuggle various commodities from India to Sri Lanka. On Sunday afternoon, people in Arucottuthurai noticed a stranger wandering in the area and alerted the CSG in Vedranyanyam, police said.

The CSG picked up the youth identified as Mohammed Rajees (33) of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka for questioning. It was found that two others had accompanied him and they had reached Arucottuthurai in a boat without any

documents. Police seized the boat and later on Sunday night arrested two others Vaseekaran (20) and Mohammed Nikas (23), who was hiding in Kodiakarai forest area.

Police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the trio had landed in Vedaranyam with the motive of smuggling various commodities, including fuel, fertilizers, medicines, and other items.